Western Massachusetts political leader, publisher, and banker (1881-1960), Trustee of the University of Massachusetts (1940-1956), and founder, editor and publisher of the Greenfield Recorder newspaper (1912-1928); political positions included State Representative (1909-1913), State Senator (1913-1915, 1923-1927), and State Treasurer (1929-1930); in 1934, was Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, and in 1936, candidate for Governor. Includes scrapbooks (1903-1936), chiefly of clippings, together with speeches (1936), posters, badges, campaign material, and photographs, mainly from Haigis's unsuccessful campaigns for lieutenant governor (1934) and governor (1936); and tape of an interview (1974) with Leverett Saltonstall about Haigis, conducted by Craig Wallwork.

Terms of Access and Use:

The collection is open for research.

Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst LibrariesAmherst, MA

Biographical Note

Western Massachusetts political leader, publisher, and banker John W. Haigis Senior (1881-1960), a Trustee of the University of Massachusetts 1940-1956, was the founder, editor, and publisher of the Greenfield Recorder, 1912-1928; founder of radio station WHAI, Greenfield, 1938; Director and President of the Franklin County Trust Co.; President of Massachusetts Trust Company Association; and Treasurer and Trustee of Deerfield Academy. In his political career he was successively Town Treasurer, Tax Collector, Assessor, and Water Commissioner for the town of Montague, 1903-1908; State Representative, 1909-1913; State Senator, 1913-1915 and 1923-1927; and State Treasurer, 1929-1930. He was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1934 and for Governor in 1936 when Alf M. Landon was the Republican candidate for President of the United States.

Scope and contents of the collection

The papers include over 90 metal 12 inch phonograph records, notes, and transcripts of speeches in the campaigns; posters, badges, and other campaign paraphernalia, principally from the 1934 and 1936 campaigns; and the tape of an interview about Haigis between U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall and Craig Wallwork in 1974; scrapbooks, principally clippings, 1903-1936; and photographs.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: John W. Haigis Sr. Papers (MS 304). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.